Lang Lang Says His White House Performance Wasn’t Political

At a recent state dinner at the White House, Lang played “My Motherland,” the theme song for “Battle on Shangganling Mountain,” a 1956 movie about the Korean War that some say is critical of Americans. Some listeners–including many Chinese bloggers–have interpreted his song choice as a slight against the U.S.

“I only know this piece because it’s a beautiful melody,” Lang told NPR. “I never knew about anything about the background.”

Asked whether he wanted to insert nationalism into his performance, Lang answered, “That’s the last thing I want to do.”

Lang said that his mother was only two years old when the movie was released. “This piece is very popular as a traditional Chinese song,” he said.

He said the bloggers using his performance as a political statement made him feel “really sad.”

[UPDATE] White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in an interview with ABC News that “any suggestion that this was an insult to the United States is just flat wrong. As Lang Lang has stated before, he plays this song regularly because it is one of his favorite Chinese melodies, which is very widely known and popular in China for its melody.”